After a career as a psychologist, Dani R. Baker never thought she would own the only diversified certified organic farm in Jefferson County, but since establishing Cross Island Farms on Wellesley Island in 2006 she and her partner, David Belding, have turned a small vegetable garden into a diversified farm with about 100 different vegetables, livestock, and her newest endeavor, an edible forest garden. This month we sit down with Ms. Baker to discuss the place of small, niche farms in the north country’s agriculture industry. [Read more…]

Brian Muto, a manager at Locust Hill Farm, Mannsville, lifts the lid of a seed bucket on a tractor used to plant corn. The farm grows about 20,000 acres of corn in southern Jefferson and northern Oswego counties. Precision-planting technology has enabled the farm to maximize crop yields and save money. Photo by Norm Johnston/ NNY Business

Northern New York farmers overcome obstacles, employ innovations that put region on course for continued success [Read more…]